Move Your Listings Faster with Smart Tech Home Upgrades

Real estate is founded on an age-old principle—buy low, sell high. Home sellers want to sell their home at its highest value, and buyers want to find a dream home that will increase in value the longer they stay.

There are a number of ways that your clients can add value to their home to drive up the selling price. It can be as simple as a fresh coat of paint, or something more complicated like building a backyard patio. However, as new technology trends and environmental issues emerge, homeowners should look into installing smart, efficient home technology that can help add more value to their bottom line and get your listings off the market more quickly.

The smart-tech research

In a recent survey from Coldwell Banker, more than 500 real estate agents were polled to get an idea of what home buyers wanted when it came to smart home tech. According to the results, nearly two in three agents reported that today's buyers are more interested in smart homes than they were two to five years ago.

Because it provides peace of mind, 59 percent of parents with children under the age of 18 said they would be willing to pay more for a home that has already been upgraded with smart tech. Even those without children are interested in smart homes, as 47 percent stated they would be willing to settle on a higher price, especially when it could save them money on their utility bills and household expenses in the long run.

When looking at specific home-tech options, 65 percent of buyers were most interested in smart home technology for security. After this, buyers were then interested in temperature control, safety, lighting, entertainment and appliances. Moreover, 62 percent of buyers also reported they wanted to be able to control these home devices from their smartphones or tablets.

The takeaway for agents is that smart home technology is clearly on the rise, especially with Millennial and Generation X buyers.

Promoting your upgraded listings

Smart homes are advantageous for buyers when considering energy efficiency and environmental consciousness, but also when looking at the convenience of easily operating security, temperature and entertainment tech. Because of this, it's important to advertise all the features of a smart home. Be sure to share all home upgrades and the features available through them.

Individually, each piece of tech may not hugely increase the price of the listing, so show buyers that, when they purchase a smart home, they're paying for the bigger picture—modern living, convenience, and safety. Also, the upgrades have already been installed so the labor has been taken care, which means one less thing new homeowners have to worry about.

The take-away

What it comes down to is, do these upgrades really help move properties more quickly? According to the survey, yes. From the agents interviewed, 33 percent said that homes with smart features and technology sold faster than homes without them. And the target market may not be exactly what you expected. While Millennials are interested in all things tech, Generation X (ages 35-49) is the top buying group interested in these smart upgrades with 57 percent looking for upgraded features.

While some buyers may need to be educated about the benefits of purchasing a smart home, most will already be aware of the advantages afforded by these upgrades.

To view the original article, visit the Homes.com blog.